My 'studio' becomes My Studio

So there we were, trying to make a radio serial on a tiny cramped iso box. It actually worked really well if a single person was being recorded, but in scenes where I wanted multiple actors I had one of two choices.
   1) Record them seperately and have them edited together afterwards, or
   2) Cram them as close as possible in front of the mic.
I really didn't like either option, but we wound up trying both possibilities.

Then the people who came to me for the serial sent me a surprise. Real studio equipment.

We're not talking top-of-the-line stuff, but far superior to what I was using.

So this is what my studio looks like now:

(photo courtesy of Rachel Ungar)

Some real stuff to work with. Of course it's just on loan, but it greatly improved the quality of episodes 2 through 5 of my serial.

I should point out we are NOT using the THX sound system to record. I was just happy to be able to display my framed classic 1980's poster in a surrounding that it fit in.

I was able to cut down on the traffic noise that wandered in from the window by stuffing three inch thick foam padding, a layer of paper eggcrate and a thick comforter over the space. Now it's pretty much silent with the exception of the occasional cement truck and bus. Thankfully that doesn't happen often.

Also, behind the perspective of the photo, the rear wall is covered in foam eggcrate and the ceiling over the recording station is covered in paper eggcrate. I still have more to put up but the sound is really amazing now.

Here's a tip... If you're looking for eggcrate material to dampen sound, check into your local Denny's, Shari's or IHOP. It only took a week for me to get enough paper eggcrate to cover the entire 10X10 ceiling. I just have to get off my butt and put the rest of them up. And seriously, paper eggcrate seems to work just as well as foam eggcrate. You can do this pretty cheap.

With everything recorded for the entire radio serial and currently at the editor the studio is sitting idle, which is why I decided to put it to additional use. I'm hoping audio books might be the way to go. We'll see...

COMING UP NEXT:
   A hell of a lot of links... I mean a ton of them... Who I am, what I do, how to find me, where to find the serial, who loaned me the equipment, where to find them and so much more...